The Henley Women take over the Household

Sydney and I have added another female to our ranks...

Here's the announcement from Daddy:

Jessica, Kyle and Sydney Henley are pleased to announce the birth of:

Darcie Ellen Henley
8/2/2007
8 lbs 3 ozs
20 3/4 inches long

Labor and delivery were quite smooth. We showed up at the hospital around noon on Thursday, and Darcie arrived hitch after 2:45 p.m. Jessica pushed for, no lie, all of 10-15 minutes and was later overheard saying, "That wasn't too bad." I'd say that it confirms my well-founded suspicions that Jessica is WAY stronger and tougher than I. That shouldn't really surprise anyone, though. We were home by 4 p.m. Friday. Jessica is doing very, very well and the baby is gorgeous.

Sydney is taking her sisterly duties in stride, still not sure why this little person has invaded her house. We've tried to assuage that with sizable doses of ice cream and treats. Mostly that's just making her bounce of the walls. Amazingly, Darcie also gave Sydney a gift of dress-up clothes, which has endeared her, sort of, to her little sister. Sydney's favorite role in all of this is to dress up as Tinker Bell to poke and prod Darcie, muttering things like "Look at those cute little toes" and "Have you seen her tiny ears?"

Darcie, meanwhile, is quite chill, enjoying her three basic duties immensely -- eating, sleeping and pooping. There is a lot of snuggling and cooing in the house. A trip to the pediatrician this morning confirmed what we already knew -- she's perfect. I'm two-for-two on that count, which is nothing short of a miracle. She has a big mess of wavy, black hair. Her biggest achievements to date include snorting, opening her eyes and crying with a quivering lip. I personally feel that's a pretty solid list for her first three days, but I'll conceded I'm biased.

Not that it matters, but I'm rather pleased with the whole thing, even if it means I'm completely outnumbered and out gunned by the Henley girls. Kevin Duggan, I'll be calling you for advice. For the most part (and I'm generalizing here) I believe my role is fairly passive until they turn into teenagers and I need to start fending off boyfriends. I'm kind of hoping that both Sydney and Darcie will be late-bloomers, but I'm not counting on it.

For those that are in the general Denver area, give a shout if you're in the neighborhood and we'll be happy to introduce you to Darcie. She's impossible not to love.